It originally opened in 1959 as the 180-room Flamingo Capri motel, located adjacent to the Flamingo hotel and casino. Ralph Engelstad purchased the property in 1971, and added a casino the following year. In 1977, the hotel had 650 rooms, after the completion of its Imperial Palace Tower. The resort was later reopened as the Asian-themed Imperial Palace in 1979.

Several additional hotel towers were added during the 1980s, bringing the resort's room count to an ultimate total of 2,637, after the completion of a fifth and final hotel tower in 1987. At the time of Engelstad's death in 2002, the resort had 2,600 employees and was the second-largest privately owned hotel in the world. In 2012, the resort was renamed as The Quad. The resort was renamed again as The Linq in 2014, after a $223 million renovation.

The property began as the $2 million, 180-room Flamingo Capri motel, owned by George E. Goldberg and Bill Capri. The motel was built directly north of the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, where Capri was an employee. The motel began construction in May 1959,[3] with a planned completion date of August 15, 1959.[4] Douglas Honnold and John Rex, both of Beverly Hills, California, were the architects. Maurice N. Aroff of Beverly Hills was the general contractor.[4] The Flamingo Capri opened in 1959.[5] The original Flamingo agreed to provide hotel services to guests at the Capri.[3][4]

Ralph Engelstad purchased the motel in 1971, and added a casino in 1972.[3] In 1973, four motel buildings from the Flamingo Capri were relocated and converted to become part of Engelstad's other property, the Kona Kai motel.[6] Engelstad's construction company added a three-story wing at the east end of the motel, as well as a northern addition, both of which were opened by 1974.[3]

By 1976, the motel was being operated as part of the Best Western hotel chain, while retaining the Flamingo Capri name. The new Imperial Palace Tower, which raised the number of rooms from 300 to 650, was completed in July 1977.[7]

The property later re-opened as the Asian-themed Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino on November 1, 1979.[3]

The Imperial Theatre showroom with 850 seats was opened in June 1980. A second hotel tower with 850 rooms was added in early 1981, which brought the hotel's room count to 1,500. The Auto Collections opened on December 1, 1981, on the fifth floor of a new parking garage which was added that year. A third hotel tower was added in August 1982.[citation needed]

In 1984, a couple from Missouri were assaulted in their guest room by a man dressed as a hotel employee. They were beaten, bound and gagged, and the wife was raped. The assailant was never caught. The couple sued the Imperial Palace, claiming that the hotel did not provide adequate security. The lawsuit lasted until at least 1989, with allegations that hotel employees destroyed evidence relating to their security practices. The case was ultimately settled on undisclosed terms.[8]

The lawsuit would lead indirectly to more trouble for the casino. In 1988, several employees, angry about being placed on leave as punishment for talking to the plaintiff attorney, began speaking to the Gaming Control Board and local media about two Nazi-themed parties Engelstad had held at the Imperial Palace. The parties were held in Engelstad's so-called "war room", which featured a large collection of World War II Nazi memorabilia, including a portrait of Engelstad in the likeness of Hitler. A national controversy ensued. Engelstad claimed the collection was purely of historical interest, and not meant to glorify the Nazis. The Gaming Control Board recommended that Engelstad lose his gaming license and be fined $200,000 for reflecting poorly on the reputation of the Nevada gaming industry. An agreement was ultimately reached whereby Engelstad kept his license, but paid $1.5 million in penalties.[8]

In 1986, the casino was expanded by 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2), with the meeting and convention space also being expanded. A fourth hotel tower was also added in 1986, for a total of 2,100 rooms. A final, 19-story tower with over 500 rooms was finished in 1987, bringing the total to 2,637 hotel rooms.[3]

A major expansion from August 1987 to July 1989 included a new swimming pool, a two-story waterfall, heated spa and poolside bar, a nightclub, race & sports book, health and fitness center, and office complex. In 1993, an independent 24-hour medical facility serving guests and employees was opened.[citation needed]

When Engelstad died in 2002, the casino ownership transferred to the Ralph Engelstad and Betty Engelstad Trust. The casino operated as its own limited partnership, Imperial Palace LLC, under the Trust's oversight. At the time of Engelstad's death, the resort was the second-largest privately owned hotel in the world, with nearly 2,700 rooms and 2,600 employees.[3]

On August 22, 2005, Harrah's Entertainment announced plans to purchase the property. The acquisition was completed on December 23, 2005. During a conference call with investors on November 20, 2005, the Chairman for Harrah's, Gary Loveman, noted that both the Imperial Palace and neighboring O'Sheas "are going to require very substantial modifications or complete tear-downs and rebuilds" in order to make room for a Harrah's and/or Flamingo expansion on the Strip.[9] However, since then, Harrah's has invested millions of dollars into refurbishing both the hotel rooms and the casino itself.

In July 2009, Harrah's announced new plans for the area around the Imperial Palace, O'Sheas, and Flamingo casinos, confirming that the Imperial Palace will not be demolished at this time. Harrah's planned to add approximately 20 restaurants and bars between O'Sheas and the Flamingo.[10]

In August 2011, Caesars Entertainment Corporation announced it will be building a massive entertainment complex adjacent to the Imperial Palace and on the site of O'Sheas casino, called Project LINQ. The Imperial Palace name will be retired and the property renamed.[11]

In July 2014, Caesars announced that the Quad would be again renamed The Linq Hotel & Casino[14] in order to join the LINQ Promenade, an adjacent shopping and entertainment center that opened in January 2014, following a $223 million renovation of the property.[15] The hotel and casino were officially renamed on October 30, 2014.[16]

O'Sheas Casino targets, and typically draws, a younger crowd in its 20s and early 30s. The casino offered low minimums on table games, a poker room, and a World Series of Beer Pong branded beer pong area. Before being purchased by Harrah's, O'Sheas branded itself as having low minimums and liberal rules on table games, thus attempting to draw "locals" and savvy, low-minimum gamblers. After the acquisition by Harrah's, O'Sheas generally offered the least advantageous table games in Nevada (i.e., bad for players), especially on Blackjack (where Blackjack only paid 6:5 on all games), and had branded itself as a "party" casino.[18] The casino offers 5 beer pong tables in addition to the other games.

The collection at the Linq originally started when owner Ralph Engelstad put his own private car collection up for display as a museum in the Imperial Palace. The museum lasted from 1981 to 1999 when Engelstad "brought in the [then] current operators to sell his vehicles."[19] The Linq collection was the world's largest classic car showroom, with more than $25 million worth of inventory on display and for sale. More than 250 antique, classic, muscle and historically significant cars were on display and nearly all were for sale.

The showroom closed in December 2017, after 18 years of operation.[20][21] Rob Williams, the general manager and a part-owner, said about the closure, "It's time; it's basically that simple. We've had a great run here … It's just time to close it down and move on to our next endeavors." Although visitor attendance had slightly declined, it was not a reason for the closure.[20]

Besides being the world's largest classic car showroom, this unique tourist attraction also served as a museum, allowing visitors the opportunity to get personally acquainted with vehicles otherwise only featured on photographs or the silver screen. The 250 automobiles displayed on 125,000 sq ft (11,600 m2) of space included antique exemplars from the early 20th century, elegant post-war limousines, high-end sports cars from the last decades as well as everything else in between. Most of these vintage cars are also fully operational and available for purchase. Prices vary dramatically depending on many factors and range from as low as $30,000 to several million dollars for the especially rare pieces in the collection.